Former FCS star Braden Atkinson beat out incumbent Maalik Murphy and fellow transfer Brady Jones to earn the Oregon State starting quarterback gig.
The Beavers named Atkinson the starter on Monday after a lengthy, spirited competition between the three players.
Atkinson played last season at Mercer and won the Jerry Rice Award as the top freshman player in FCS. He completed 66% of his passes and set single-season school records of 3,596 yards and 34 touchdown passes.
Atkinson, who tossed 11 interceptions, also set a Mercer single-game record with 533 passing yards against VMI on Oct. 25. He finished fifth in balloting for the Walter Payton Award, the honor that goes to the top FCS offensive player.
Murphy completed 58.1% of his throws for 1,805 yards, nine touchdowns and eight interceptions last season for Oregon State, which went 2-8 in his 10 appearances.
Murphy played at Texas and Duke before relocating to the Pacific Northwest. In 2024, he passed for 2,933 yards and 26 touchdowns and was picked off 12 times as the Blue Devils’ starter.
He redshirted at Texas in 2022 and started two of seven games played in 2023 when he passed for 477 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions.
Overall, he has passed for 5,215 yards and 38 touchdowns against 23 interceptions as a collegian.
Jones, a Murrieta, Calif., native, was 19-of-40 passing for 136 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions in limited action as a junior for Western Michigan last season.
Former Alabama co-offensive coordinator JaMarcus Shephard is the new head coach at Oregon State, which is part of a reconfigured Pac-12.
The Beavers open the season Sept. 5 with a nonconference game at No. 23 Houston.